Maria DeLuca
by 2queens1prince
Summary: A lilacmermaid prompt. Most of Elizabeth's reject list for the next Mrs. McCord are friends or colleagues, but one is a student.


AN: I just want to throw a shout out to lilacmermaid for always having the most creative prompts. I love them so much and hope I do a half decent job of writing them. Also to my beta team L and E; they're the best.

Madam Secretary Prompt: Most of the women that Elizabeth tells Henry he can't choose as the next Mrs McCord are colleagues or parents of their kids' friends, but one of them is a former student.

Maria DeLuca walked into the empty lecture hall and made her way down to the front of the room before sitting down. Taking a deep breath, she tried to squelch the butterflies that threatened to make her lose the piece of toast she'd eaten for breakfast.

She swallowed, forcing the lump in her throat to recede. It had been a rough year, and this was not ever where she thought she'd be. Her husband, Murphy, was a Captain in the Marines and had been killed when the CH 53E Super Stallion he was riding in lost control during a sandstorm and crashed. In a sad twist of fate, her brother had also died in a car accident the same day stateside. She had been in the middle of the phone call receiving that awful news when the Marine Chaplain came knocking at her door.

If she were honest with herself, the only reason she was still living was because of her two boys. At three and five, Thomas and Owen didn't really understand. Murphy had been away as much as he'd been home in their short lives, so they just looked at their father's absence as normal. But Maria knew and felt it deeply.

She and Murphy had been married for ten years before the boys came along. High school sweethearts, they were married when he came back from boot camp. She was 19. She traveled with him, living on base, joining the wives' clubs that abounded, but by the time she was in her upper twenties, she longed for children.

Murphy always wanted kids. Maria was the one that wanted to wait. The problem was that she wanted to raise her family back home where they would have both sets of grandparents nearby, a sense of family, something that she dreadfully missed, although it was never spoken.

The decision was made when Maria was six months pregnant, to move back to Charlottesville. They bought a house that was roughly equal distance from both grandparents and Murphy came home as often as he could. It hadn't been bad. She got over missing him to a certain extent and they were able to talk on the phone frequently.

She was thankful that the month before he died he had been able to be home. They took the kids to Williamsburg and just enjoyed Christmas as a family. Then, he headed back to Iraq, and three weeks later, he was dead.

As for her brother, Sam, Maria wasn't particularly close to him. He was fifteen years older and was out of the house by the time she had any significant memories of him. It wasn't that there was any animosity between them. It was more that they just lived in separate universes, only coming into contact with one another occasionally. Still, his death brought up a profound sense of loss, a missed opportunity really. She should have made more of an attempt to connect with him. She felt guilty that she hadn't made more of an effort.

Maria muddled through the stages of grief and tried her best to help her family through it as well, but as the first anniversary of her husband and brother's death approached, she felt the need to make a drastic change.

The Saturday night after Thanksgiving, after getting the boys to bed, Maria stared at the bottom of an empty wine bottle and pondered her life. Up to this point, she mostly just went with the flow, reacting to events as they happened. She married out of high school and had traveled with her husband and spent time in several places. She'd always held jobs everywhere he was stationed, but she never did anything she was passionate about. She wasn't sure what she was passionate about. Maria only knew that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life answering phones and filing contracts at the lawyer's office where she currently worked. She felt like while she had been many places, she didn't have a lot of life experience. In her quasi drunk state, Maria decided she needed life experience and pulled the laptop out from under the couch to start researching colleges. At 3 am, she applied to the University of Virginia.

Now, staring out the small windows that lined the top of the lecture hall, she studied the snowflakes being blown violently around. She felt that way now. She felt like she was being tossed around inside her own world. She quit her job against her family's wishes and was now sitting in this classroom, a college freshman. Maria hadn't been a student in more than 15 years. What if she was chasing a dream that she could never achieve? What if she failed?

"Hello." The voice startled Maria and she jumped at the sound. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Henry McCord." He took a step toward her and extended his hand. "If you're here for Intro to World Religions, you're a bit early."

Maria nodded, "Maria DeLuca." She shook his hand. "I know. I was worried about parking and how long the walk would take and, well honestly, I was just too nervous to stay home any longer." She wrung her hands in her lap, annoyed with herself for talking so much. Her professor likely didn't care.

"I'm the same way. I vividly remember not sleeping the night before classes started my freshman year because I was terrified I would oversleep and miss my first class. I'd like to say that has changed, but I still do that. So, you're a former Marine?"

Maria gave him a confused look and he pointed to the messenger bag, which was propped against her chair. It had a large Marine Corps emblem on the flap. "Oh, it was my husband's. I thought it might bring me good luck." She looked away and had to take a deep breath to keep her emotions in check. "I traveled with him until we had kids and then we bought a house here, so I could be close to family. He died in a helicopter accident. It will be a year at the end of this month."

"The sandstorm," he murmured. Maria's head snapped up in shock.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Captain Henry McCord, Marine Corps Retired. It's my thing to sort of follow along and pray for those that don't make it home. I am very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you Captain, Doctor-" Maria felt herself getting flustered.

"It's Doctor McCord, but call me Henry." He looked up and saw that other students were filtering into the hall. "It was nice meeting you Maria. Feel free to drop by during office hours if you ever have questions about the material." He paused. "Or you just need to talk." Henry offered her a kind smile and moved across the room to speak to other students. Maria leaned back in the chair. She felt better about college already.

A couple weeks passed and the longer she was in the World Religions class, the more Maria liked Dr. Henry McCord. He was incredibly intelligent and had a gift for teaching. He never failed to make the most complex religious issues completely relatable. The one question she had was quickly answered during his office hours and he was quick to offer an ear as she talked about the difficulties in being a full-time mother and a full-time student. Now she stood outside Henry's office door wondering if she was making a mistake. Today was the anniversary of her husband and brother's death and she just wasn't able to put herself back together today. But, was she expecting too much of someone she barely knew?

Wiping the tears away with the back of her hand, she took a step back, changing her mind. Henry was her professor, not her confidante, and although she needed one, perhaps this wasn't the appropriate avenue to take. Just then the door opened, and Henry emerged carrying a coffee cup.

"Maria?" he said, knowingly. "I wondered if you might be by today. I was just headed down to grab a cup of coffee. Can I get one for you too?" She absentmindedly nodded. "How do you like it?" he asked.

"Black. That's fine. Thank you," she murmured.

Henry gestured her into his office. "Be right back," he said.

Maria stepped inside and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. What exactly was she doing here? What did she want from Henry McCord?

Henry returned in short order, handing her a styrofoam cup of coffee. Instead of sitting behind his desk, he cleared a few papers off of a chair and pulled it over next to Maria. "Anniversaries are tough," he said.

Maria looked at the floor. "Especially when you lose two people at once."

Henry sighed, "Who else?"

"My brother. I learned about both of their deaths almost at the same time."

"I know how hard that is. Wait. I don't know. I know how much it affects those left behind. Losing multiple people at the same time." She looked up at him, wondering what he meant. "My wife has a similar sort of situation. But you're not here to listen to me."

"I don't know why I'm here. I thought I'd dealt with this. I thought I was better, but today I just can't hold it all together." Tears streamed down Maria's face. "I miss Murphy so much." Maria choked out a sob and buried her face in her hands. Henry pressed a tissue into her hand and placed his hand on her arm.

"Why don't you tell me about Murphy?" Maria dried her eyes and blew her nose, and then words just started falling from her lips. For over an hour, she talked non-stop about their high school days and all of the places Murphy had been stationed and the transition to Charlottesville and their boys and how hard it was when he died, and finally she stopped. When she realized that she had no more words left, she felt better, better than she had since his death.

"I'm sorry I just unloaded all of that on you." Maria apologized.

"Your husband sounds like a good man, a dedicated Marine and a wonderful husband. You're going to get to a place where you are better. Maybe not good, but functional. It just takes time." They both stood and just as Henry was about to say he needed to go, Maria he had her arms wrapped around Henry clinging to him. He hugged her back, and a warmth that Maria hadn't felt in a long time coursed through her body.

"Henry?" the voice came from the doorway and Henry immediately released Maria and stepped back so she was at arms' length. Maria took in the tall, slim, blonde that was standing in the doorway. She was beautiful, but she obviously wasn't pleased with the scene, and from Henry's reaction, he knew without even looking at her that she wasn't happy.

"Elizabeth, I'd like you to meet one of my Intro to World Religions students. This is Maria DeLuca. Maria, this is my wife, Elizabeth McCord." A look crossed Elizabeth's face, but Maria couldn't identify it. Confusion, concern, panic.

She smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Maria." Then she turned her focus to Henry. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we are supposed to go to Stevie's school program this afternoon. I can go by myself if you aren't finished here." Elizabeth's words said one thing when her body language said another as far as Maria could tell.

"No. No. Time just got away from me." Henry turned back to Maria. "You'll be okay?" he asked. Maria nodded. Even if she wasn't, she wouldn't say that. There was already an enormous amount of tension in the room.

"Thanks for listening." She smiled at Henry and picked up her bag. As she passed Elizabeth, she offered her a smile as well. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. McCord." Maria slipped out the door and winced as she heard Henry's office door shut.

MSMSMSMSMSMS

"Henry?" Elizabeth asked, her body sagging against the door, the air sucked from her lungs.

"Hmm?" Henry responded, having returned to his side of the desk, busying himself with the task of tidying up so they could leave. When she didn't actually ask a question, Henry looked up and for the first time the look on his wife's face registered. "Babe," he started.

"What was that?" she asked, her voice tentative, afraid to know the answer.

"That was nothing more than a student who needed to talk something out." Henry rounded the desk and moved closer to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to him. "Really. I promise." He kissed her, but when she didn't reciprocate, he pulled back. "We can go."

They were silent on the short drive to Stevie's school. Elizabeth was wound tight, a torrent of emotions. Since she quit the CIA almost ten months ago, she and Henry had struggled, both personally and as a couple. Elizabeth was trying to put the pieces of her life back together, mostly while Henry stood at a guarded distance. They were getting better, but by no means were they back to what they had once been. Still, through all the lows, it had never once crossed her mind that he might be unfaithful. Seeing another woman in his embrace shook her to her core, and she wasn't really sure how to address it without seeming jealous or possessive. It wasn't about that. It was about her devastation at the possibility that their marriage foundation had crumbled to a point that it was irreparable.

Henry watched Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye. He knew something was wrong and that something was really someone, Maria. He wasn't sure how to convince Elizabeth that he was just being supportive to a student. He'd told her, but seeing her now, she obviously didn't believe him, at least not fully.

An hour later, Stevie and Ali chattered on about Stevie's program and their school day in the back seat while Elizabeth stared out the window and Henry kept his eyes on the road. They picked up Jason from daycare and wordlessly went through their normal routine. By the end of the evening, the kids were all bundled up in blankets, lounging on the floor. They were subconsciously eating handfuls of popcorn, enthralled with their DVD movie, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Elizabeth and Henry were camped on opposite ends of the couch, pretending to be as interested as the kids.

Henry saw an opening and scooted next to his wife, but when he put his arm around her shoulders, she immediately stood and retreated to their bedroom. He followed and slipped behind the door, closing it softly behind him.

She stood with her back to him, looking out the window, but he heard the unmistakable sound of her crying. He crossed the room. "Babe, please," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I thought we were going to be okay," she whispered, her hand flying to her mouth to silence the sob that escaped.

"We are okay." She turned her head enough to catch his gaze. He was oblivious.

"We aren't where we need to be," she said, "And we definitely won't get there if there is a third party in the mix. Is there something going on with her, Henry?"

"Who? Maria. What? No." Elizabeth continued to eye him. "I'm not. What you saw today was just me being a supportive professor to a student who was going through a rough time. Today was just a really bad day for her." Henry took a moment to decide if sharing Maria's story would help the situation or not. He finally said, "Both her husband and brother died a year ago today." Her husband was a Marine, so she felt like I would understand. She just talked. Really, babe. I didn't even hardly speak." Turning her in his arms, he kissed her forehead. "Listen, I know that things have been rough since you left the CIA and I take my fair share of the responsibility for that, but never once have I looked at another woman and thought about her the way I think about you."

Henry moved closer until he was hovering over her lips. "I love you. I only want you." His tongue darted out brushing her top lip before pulling it between his. He threaded his fingers through her hair and tightened them into a fist, holding her still, so he could devour her. The sting made a beeline from her scalp to her center, making the throb between her legs suddenly demand attention.

Stepping them both to the side, he pressed her

to the wall, continuing to kiss her fiercely. "No one else," he whispered when he finally broke away from her lips. His hands worked away from her hair down her back to where he gripped her ass and pulled her leg up, hooking it over his hip.

She could feel his erection through their clothes and her arousal dampened her panties. "The kids," she breathed out, clinging to her last thread of rational thought.

Henry stilled and then dropped her leg. He stepped away from her, moving quietly to the door and turning the lock on the handle. He shed his clothes before standing at the end of the bed. "Come," he mumbled, holding out his hand.

She walked from her spot next to the window and stood in front of him. His fingers traced the skin along the waistband of her joggers and he felt the goosebumps erupt on her stomach. Henry grinned and kissed her again, hooking his fingers in her pants and dragging both pants and panties down just far enough over her hips that they fell to the floor. She moaned into his mouth as he gathered the material of her shirt, dragging it up over her body, breaking the kiss so he could tug it over her head and then he was right back as though he never left.

He swiftly unhooked her bra and tossed it to the side, and sat down taking a nipple in his mouth as he pulled her close. Elizabeth's breaths were shallow as she was desperately trying to be quiet knowing their children were awake on the other side of the wall. She fisted Henry's hair and held him to her chest. "Please." The request fell from her lips and Henry released her breast and shifted her back a step. Elizabeth looked confused for a moment until Henry said, "On my lap."

Instantly, she obeyed straddling his legs as he parted her lips with his hardened penis. She let out a shaky breath as she slid down his length. Burying her face in the crook of his neck, she revelled in the feeling of fullness. Methodically she raised up and slid back down, increasing the pace slowly. Henry guided her to his mouth, swallowing their moans as he gripped her hips and pulled her roughly down, pushed her up and repeated the action. As Elizabeth grew closer to her climax, she leaned back, placing her hands on Henry's knees and ground into him at a furious pace.

"Babe," Henry rasped, barely able to hold out.

"So. Close," she breathed out. Henry moved his hand and pressed his thumb to her clit and she snapped forward, coming hard. Henry thrust deep into her, filling her with his semen. A thin sheen of sweat covered both of them. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding on until they calmed.

Henry leaned back a bit, giving him some space to look at his wife. "Elizabeth, you need to know that whatever happens in our lives, I will always fight for us and I will never go looking elsewhere for what I have right in front of me."

"Me either. I'm sorry I got a little weird earlier. I'm just so scared that this past year is going to be the beginning of the end for us, and if that happens, I don't know what I'll do."

"Put that fear to rest because that won't ever happen." He glanced at the door. "We should probably return to family movie night before the kids notice we're gone." Henry leaned in and kissed Elizabeth. They quickly redressed and returned to the couch, this time they cuddled up next to each other and Elizabeth relaxed for the first time in almost a year.

MSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMS

The Monday after spring break, Maria sat on the front row of the lecture hall listening to Henry's melodic voice and somehow, he was no longer talking about the Buddhists, he was whispering "I love yous" into her ear as he pushed into her. She snapped to attention, fully aware of the blush that resided on her cheeks. She couldn't be thinking those kinds of things about her professor. Her married professor. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if her married professor was happily married. That scene in his office two months prior played back in her mind. The look, the tension, the unspoken doubt and maybe even hostility. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and went back to taking notes.

At the end of class, Maria was tucking her notebook into her bag when Henry appeared before her. "Are you going to be on campus tomorrow?" Maria nodded. "I have office hours all day tomorrow. I'd like you to stop by. I want to discuss your last paper."

"Um, sure. Yeah, I can do that. After my 10 o'clock class." Maria looked up and met Henry's gaze. She was sure she saw something there. She smiled. "Tomorrow then." Maria made her way up the stairs of the lecture hall and when she turned, Henry was watching her. _Yeah, I definitely saw something._

The next morning, Maria traded her jeans and t-shirt for a bright red sundress and white cardigan with cute sandals. "Let's play this up," she murmured. "I'm not going to make it much of a challenge." After dropping her kids off at her mother's house, she headed toward campus and went to her class. As the class ended, her senses were on high alert. Walking quickly, she soon found herself standing in front of Henry's office door.

With her heart beating hard in her chest, she knocked. "Come in," Maria stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind her, turning the lock.

"Hi Henry," Maria said. Henry's head was down, reading an essay, making comments as he went.

Without looking up, he spoke, "Hi Maria. Go ahead and take a seat. I just want to finish this last paper."

Maria was a little off kilter, expecting him to be waiting for her, but she went ahead and sat down and watched him. Since he only had office hours, he was dressed casually in an ROTC t-shirt that was stretched across his broad chest. The sleeves tight around his muscular biceps. Henry's hair was a little longer than usual, the top grown out, tousled and unruly. Maria licked her lips. He was hot.

Henry placed the paper on a stack with some others and turned to a side table, rifling through another stack, pulling out a specific paper When he spun back around, Maria was sitting on the edge of his desk, leaning forward so his line of sight was directly down her dress. "Whoa!" Henry pushed his chair back until it hit the wall and he quickly stood. "What are you doing?"

"Like you really asked me to come and discuss my paper," Maria said, sliding off the front of the desk, walking around behind it, closing the distance.

Henry held up the paper. "Yes. I asked you come in and talk about your paper. It wasn't the same caliber that you've handed in before. I wanted to see if you didn't understand the material or if there was another problem."

"Perhaps the problem is that I can't concentrate on what you're saying because I'm imagining what you could be doing." Maria cocked her head to the side and bit her bottom lip.

"I think you should go now. We'll discuss this another time." Henry started.

"Henry. I'm not going anywhere. I've seen the way you look at me. I know you want me." Maria stepped closer, placing her hands on Henry's chest.

Henry stepped away, moving around the end of the desk into the open part of the room. "Look. I'm not sure what I've done to make you think that I want anything other than a professional student/teacher relationship, but I'm stopping this right here. I am a married man. I love my wife and I'm not doing anything to jeopardize that."

Henry turned the knob to the door and found it locked. He sighed and then unlocked the door. "Maria. You should go."

Maria's whole world just came crashing down around her. As the rational and irrational parts of her brain fought for control, she felt the gamut of emotions. She was embarrassed, lonely, hurt, angry and she felt terribly juvenile. Ultimately, she knew that she let a crush on someone who had shown her compassion turn into a one sided infatuation. Embarrassment won out and Maria dropped her head and nearly ran around the desk to pick up her bag and leave.

Henry opened the door and Maria breezed past him, not speaking, and ran straight into Elizabeth, who was standing on the opposite side of the door.

"I-uh-excuse m-" Maria stammered. Then she looked up and realized who she ran into. "Oh God. I'm sorry." She turned, and started to speed walk down the hall.

"Ms. DeLuca," Elizabeth called. Maria stopped in her tracks. Elizabeth, who had heard a fair amount of the exchange, took a second to decide how she wanted to handle this. She looked over at Henry, whose eyes shifted from her down the hall to the woman at the end. He wasn't sure to make of what had happened or was about to happen, either with Maria or Elizabeth. She took off down the hall and found herself standing in front of the woman.

"Maria, as Henry's wife, I'm going to chalk this up to a misunderstanding and let it go. In the future, should you have any questions pertaining to my husband's class, you will need to make an appointment and he will meet you at the cafe or coffee shop down the street. Absolutely, under no circumstances are you to be alone with my husband. Are we clear?"

Maria, whose face was nearly the same shade as her sundress, nodded. "Yes ma'am," she muttered and scurried down the stairs.

MSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMS

Elizabeth walked out of the Dean's Office with a manilla envelope in her hand. She took a deep breath. It was January 2009 and she had just accepted a position as assistant professor in the political science department and she held her first class lists. Back at her desk, she opened the envelope and read over the lists. Her eyes fell on a particular name and her heart stopped. Maria DeLuca was enrolled in her Politics in the Post Cold War Era course. There were only eight people in that upper level course. It wasn't as if she could ignore the woman. Elizabeth could only hope that once Maria figured out who the instructor was, she would choose to drop the course herself.

When the first day of classes rolled around, Elizabeth found herself sitting in a circle with Maria DeLuca on the opposite side. As much as Elizabeth wanted to dislike Maria, she found her to be a good student, and truthfully she liked her, the whole husband seducing aside. Elizabeth had lots of outside conversations with most of her students and knew a lot about most of them, but Maria kept her distance, and Elizabeth figured that was to be expected. She wasn't necessarily looking to befriend the woman either.

So, when there was a knock at her office door and Maria popped her head in, Elizabeth was shocked. Not only was Maria standing in her doorway, but she looked awful. "Maria. Come in. Is everything alright?"

Maria crossed the threshold, but didn't make a move to sit down. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to but I have a question and it's personal."

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably behind her desk. "Have a seat. What can I do for you?"

Maria sat on the edge of the wooden chair opposite Elizabeth. "Do you ever get to the point when the anniversary of their deaths doesn't derail your life?" Elizabeth sat at attention. That was not the direction she thought the conversation would go.

"There are probably many other people more qualified than I who could answer your question." Elizabeth said, as much to herself as to Maria.

"But you're the only one I know that lost more than one person in the same day. I just feel different things for the different people and the grief hits me and I just can't get past it. I need you to tell me that it gets better."

"How did you? Nevermind." She shook her head knowingly. "Uh, it changes, but I don't know that it gets better. Maybe you just get used to it and prepare for it. It's been almost 26 years, and if at all possible, I still take the day off so I don't have to worry about holding it together for other people. It was your husband and," Elizabeth paused for a moment trying to recall what Henry had told her. "Your brother?" Maria nodded. "I'm sorry," Elizabeth murmured.

"Who did you lose?" Maria asked.

"Henry didn't tell you?"

Maria looked away. "He only said that he understood and it was hard to watch someone deal with it and that your situation was similar."

"My parents." Elizabeth twisted her wedding rings around her finger. "They died in a car accident when I was 15."

"I'm sorry." They both laughed at the same time. "That's such a pointless thing to say."

"I agree, but, obviously, I do it too. It fills the silence when you have nothing else to say."

"You're lucky to have Henry," Maria ventured.

"I am," Elizabeth said. "Someday I hope you will find your own version of Henry," Elizabeth murmured.

"I already had it once. It's doubtful I would be so blessed a second time. Maybe if something ever happens to you-" Maria smirked.

"No." She let that sit a moment. "I really am sorry that I couldn't be more helpful."

"Actually just knowing that there are people out there in the same boat is helpful, really." Maria stood. "Thanks for seeing me."

"Anytime." Maria disappeared from her office and Elizabeth leaned back in her chair. Maria wasn't a bad person. Maybe just confused and most certainly still grieving. Elizabeth even kind of halfway liked her. But even that didn't make her warm up to the idea of Maria ever becoming Mrs. McCord.


End file.
